Military Next-Gen Collision Avoidance Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the “Military Next-Gen Collision Avoidance Act of 2026”.

(a) ACAS–X action plan.—

(1) In general.— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and Senate an action plan for advancing the deployment of the Airborne Collision Avoidance System–X (in this section referred to as “ACAS–X”), ACAS–Xa, ACAS–Xr, ACAS–Xo, ACAS–Xu, ACAS–sXu, ACAS–Xp.

(2) Contents.— In developing the action plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include—

(A) a strategic roadmap for the deployment of ACAS–X technology, including steps required for widespread adoption among military aircraft;

(B) actions and funding necessary to complete any applicable research, development, testing, evaluation, and standards development needed to support the certification of such technology;

(C) ACAS–X interoperability considerations for aircraft operators (including rotorcraft operators) equipped with ADS–B Out and ADS–B In equipment;

(D) an assessment of safety benefits for aircraft operators equipping with such technology; and

(E) any recommendations for administrative or legislative action, as determined appropriate by the Secretary, to advance such technology deployment.

(3) Implementation.— The Secretary may take actions, as appropriate, to implement the action plan developed under paragraph (1).

(4) Briefing.— Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary submits the action plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and Senate a briefing on the contents of such action plan and any prospective actions to implement such plan.

(b) Definitions.— In this section:

(1) The term ADS–B In means onboard avionics equipment that receives and processes Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast transmissions that are broadcast in accordance with sections 91.225 and 91.227 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations), and other aviation advisory information from ground stations, that provides the aircraft with awareness to the location of other aircraft and traffic advisories.

(2) The term ADS–B Out—

(A) has the meaning given such term in section 91.227 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; and

(B) includes equipment that broadcasts information from an aircraft in accordance with sections 91.225 and 91.227 of such title 14 (or any successor regulations).